Saturday, 13 December 2014

Get up close and personal with the damselfly, thanks to director Hasan Samur. Here he reveals that far from being identical, each damselfly has its own unique colorings and patterns – and they are striking to say the very least. Many carry the scars of battle – some blind, some missing legs. We also get to see some remarkable footage of damselflies mating which to our eyes may seem very strange behavior indeed.

Andre Bauma works with orphaned gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since the outbreak of civil war in 1996 the gorillas have been caught not in the mist but the crossfire. The human cost is also staggering with 150 park rangers murdered trying to protect them. However, this vital job is carried on by a brave few as only about 800 gorillas survive in the wild. Created by Orlando Von Einsiedel of the New York Times, this moving video follows Andre and his group of orphans as they struggle through daily life in the Congo.

If you don’t have nets to use then you can always make your own. This is what humpback whales do when they sense an opportunity to enjoy a feast and this behavior is only seen in Southeast Alaska where this rare and remarkable footage was taken by AkXpro Productions. Other whales do use bubble feeding but this method is unique to the Alaskan whales. Anywhere from four to twenty whales will join in with the hunt. One will release a ring of bubbles from its blowhole beneath the herring. This curtain of bubbles acts as a wall which keeps the fish inside it. Then another whale will produce vocalizations (which we can’t hear in this video, of course!) which makes the herring squeeze together in tight balls.

Then the whales lunge in unison. Breaking the surface simultaneously with their mouths wide open, then roll over and down. This captures as many fish as possible as well as forcing the water they take in out through their baleen plates. With the water forced out they can then gulp down their prey. Altogether, pretty amazing!

Saturday, 6 December 2014

Dogs like nothing better than when something a little out of the ordinary happens. So, when the world has turned white one morning and the water has gone hard and slippery, you can’t blame a dog for getting a little excited, can you?

The Earth - our beautiful blue orb circling the sun is home to so many diverse species of animals. The Ark In Space serves as a compendium of these species in all their glory, drawing on the finest Creative Commons photographs available on the internet. So, enjoy your time on this website and revel in the beauty and diversity of our animal life. The Earth truly is an Ark In Space.